SC asks Centre to probe if nationwide network behind missing children cases

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday asked the Centre to ascertain whether incidents of children going missing across the country point to a nationwide network or are the work of State-specific groups, stressing the need to determine if there is a discernible pattern behind such cases.

A bench comprising Justices B. V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said the Union government must collate comprehensive data from all States and Union Territories to enable meaningful analysis. “We want to know whether there is a nationwide network or a State-specific group behind these incidents where children go missing. Is it a pattern or just a random incident?” the bench asked.

Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the court that some States had furnished data on missing children and subsequent prosecutions, but around a dozen States were yet to submit their information. She said a proper analysis would be possible only after complete data was received by the Union government.

The bench expressed concern over the delay and said it could pass “harsh orders” if required to ensure compliance by States that had not shared the data. It also suggested that children who had been rescued should be interviewed to identify those responsible for such incidents and to understand the modus operandi involved.

Senior advocate Aparna Bhatt, assisting the court, said the Centre had initiated steps and urged the court to issue directions to all States to promptly furnish the required information.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan, which flagged the rising number of children who remain untraced across several States and highlighted gaps in investigation and coordination.

Earlier, on 9 December, the apex court had directed the Centre to place before it six years of nationwide data on missing children and to appoint a dedicated officer in the Union Home Ministry to ensure effective coordination with States and Union Territories in compiling and analysing such information.

The court had also directed all States and Union Territories to depute dedicated nodal officers to oversee missing children cases and to ensure that details are promptly uploaded on the portal run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

On 18 November last year, the court had expressed serious concern over a media report stating that a child goes missing in the country every eight minutes. It had termed the issue grave and noted that complexities in the legal adoption process could be fuelling illegal practices. The bench had then asked the Centre to streamline adoption mechanisms to reduce incentives for unlawful trafficking.

Observing that a rigorous adoption process is “bound to be flouted”, the court had said people often resort to illegal means to obtain children. It had earlier suggested the creation of a dedicated online portal under the aegis of the Union Home Ministry to trace missing children and investigate such cases.

The bench has repeatedly flagged a lack of coordination among police authorities tasked with tracing missing children across States and Union Territories. It said a centralised portal could designate a dedicated officer from each State to handle missing persons complaints, facilitate information sharing and improve follow-up.

In its petition, the NGO cited unresolved cases of kidnapping and missing children and pointed to gaps in action on inputs available on the government-run missing/found portal. It illustrated its case with five instances registered in Uttar Pradesh last year, where minor boys and girls were allegedly kidnapped and trafficked through a network of middlemen to States including Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The court said it would continue to monitor compliance and examine the data once furnished to determine whether systemic failures or organised networks were at play behind the continuing incidents of missing children.